Lesson 5: str — how an object prints itself

What happens when you print an object? Without preparation you get odd text like <__main__.Dog object at 0x...>. In this lesson we meet __str__ — a magic method that teaches the object to present itself nicely.

__str__ is the object's name tag. Without it, print() shows a boring identifier; with it — the object introduces itself exactly how you choose.

__str__: A magic method that returns a string — print() calls it automatically when the object is printed.
magic (dunder) method: A method with two underscores on each side — Python calls it automatically at special moments.